


Outtake: Meeting in Balmora

by firelordstark



Series: Azura's Vengeance [1]
Category: Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Video Game, M/M, Pre-Slash, getting drunk and going home with strangers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-20
Updated: 2013-11-20
Packaged: 2018-01-02 03:41:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1052117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/firelordstark/pseuds/firelordstark
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve, an individual of no rank or consequence, is sent from the Imperial City to Morrowind, unaware of the role he will play in that nation's history.  But right now he could use a drink.</p><p>(Outtake of a longer story placing the Avengers in the world of the Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, with some artistic liberties taken.  I think it's amusing enough to post on its own.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Outtake: Meeting in Balmora

**Author's Note:**

> Clarification: Tony Stark's name has been changed to be more Dark Elf-like. Steve's has not been changed to reflect his race because I couldn't think of something I liked better. Let's say he has a name from the Colovian region of the Imperial province.
> 
> "Dwarven" is the human form of "Dwemer".

Athonis, looking like an exceptionally prosperous adventurer in his Dwemer armor, was getting a drink in the South Wall Cornerclub in Balmora when the rain chased in a tall, blond human of the Imperial race. Athonis still had a weakness for Imperial things that his newfound weakness for Dwemer things had not entirely displaced. That may or may not have had something to do with how comfortable Dwemer artifacts were to sleep with (as you would expect of metal things, the answer was not very).

The Imperial had the look of someone who'd been called “outlander” a few times too often recently, and a flash of relief passed over his face when he heard Athonis offer to buy him a sujamma in his Imperial City accent.

Steve welcomed the bit of the familiar in this alien world he'd been exiled to. However, he doubted it was normal, even here, for people – sober people – to buy drinks for complete strangers. It was probably safe to sit next to the Dark Elf – Dunmer, they preferred to be called Dunmer, got to remember that – though, and he wanted to sit down and dry off and forget about how the caravaner had steered the giant insect he'd ridden from the port town of Seyda Neen to the city of Balmora. They'd said it didn't hurt, but that looked painful. Okay, maybe he did want a drink.

“Hello,” Steve said, sitting next to the Dunmer in what looked like Dwarven armor. He'd only seen examples in public museums before. “If sujamma involves alcohol, I'd be glad of one. I've had a very strange day.”

The Dunmer grinned and signaled the publican for the drink. “'If sujamma involves alcohol.' You are clearly in need of some education, friend. Luckily, you know someone perfectly happy both to buy you drinks and to further the expansion of knowledge.”

Steve sipped at the 'sujamma' experimentally. Not bad. There was definitely alcohol involved. And it was starting to sound like his new friend wanted to get him drunk. After being taken from his old life on the Emperor's whim and sent to a frontier country populated by heathen elves, that sounded wonderful. “And what do I owe you in return for this generosity?”

“Tell me about this strange day you've had.” Athonis wouldn't object to having a tipsy human at his mercy. If he wasn't interested now, perhaps after he'd proven his trustworthiness by looking after him a few times, then this stray human – and he was clearly a stray, ill-nourished, only the basics of hygiene attended to, and completely out of his element – would allow Athonis to be his patron. Athonis missed Virginia and Harold the Happy. Virginia had always been more interested in House politics than he had, and Harold doted on her. And Rhodes had gone up to Fort Frostmoth to find out what was going on up there, not that Rhodes belonged to Athonis the way Virginia and Harold had. And he needed to control himself and stop being generous to attractive strangers. Yeah, that was going to happen. “And then we'll see if you need more drinks.”

“Well...” So Steve told Athonis about his injust imprisonment, knowing how believable that sounded, about the journey from the Imperial City all the way to Seyda Neen in Vvardenfell District, leaving out the details of the strange dreams, about being mysteriously released – at this point he attempted to casually ask if his new friend knew where Caius Cosades was, and completely failed at being casual – and finally, about the poor giant bug with controls stuck in its nerve clusters that had carried him from Seyda Neen to Balmora. That called for a glass of matze to follow up the glasses of sujamma and shein. His new friend told Steve what each drink was made from, but Steve couldn't remember that, or what his new friend's name was, though he'd been told that, too. Once the matze was gone, Steve was pliable enough that his new friend was able to coax him out the door and down the block.

At least the rain had stopped. Athonis was glad that he had a house so close to the cornerclub, and that Steve, as the Imperial had introduced himself, was willing to come quietly. Yes, the cornerclub had rooms for rent, but you may not wake up with everything you went to sleep with – hazard of being a Thieves' Guild hangout. Living in a house practically next door to the Guild wasn't much safer, but most thieves preferred to go after targets who couldn't magically electrocute anyone they caught. Plus he made sure to tip the cornerclub publican well.

Learning that Caius Cosades was involved in something secretive and official was... not very surprising. Athonis was used to House political maneuvering. He knew suspicious when he saw it, and he also knew deliberately not suspicious, overly suspicious, and routinely suspicious. Athonis was tempted to take a look at the package, but if Steve was telling the – edited – truth about how he'd ended up here, then it was a matter of Imperial security, which, as a member of the Imperial Legion, Athonis was supposed to be upholding.

With a sigh at having to control his curiosity, Athonis got Steve settled in an extra bed with an empty bucket and a jug of water nearby, and left his package alone.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! If you think additional tags should be added, please let me know.
> 
> As I mentioned in the summary, this is an outtake of a longer story, which is unfinished at this point, but has 10k words, so I am looking for a beta/co-author. The main story will be Steve/Tony, and I have backstory written for Natasha, Clint, Thor, and Bruce.
> 
> Themes include: reincarnation, duty, honor, cannibal Bosmer, slavery, the weirdness of the [36 Lessons of Vivec](http://uesp.net/wiki/Lore:The_36_Lessons_of_Vivec), Civil War feels, awkward metaphors, abbreviated action scenes, lots of killing, Tony being eccentric and inappropriate


End file.
